Grit, as defined by Professor Angela Duckworth, refers to the sustained perseverance and passion for long-term goals. The concept was popularised through Duckworth’s 2013 TED Talk (The Power of Passion and Perseverance) which has garnered 15 million views, and her subsequent research on the topic. In her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Duckworth challenges traditional notions of success by shifting the focus from innate talent to consistent effort. She found that those with a strong sense of passion and commitment for their work are able to maintain higher motivation and energy over long periods of time, even if they encounter challenges and setbacks.
Across numerous studies she and her colleagues reported that grit accounted for between 1.4–6.3% of the variance in educational and performance outcomes (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007). Duckworth’s research has found that grit often outperforms IQ and raw ability in determining achievement, highlighting the transformative power of resilience and determination (Duckworth, 2013). In the sporting world, studies on elite athletes found that mental toughness (i.e. grit!) is one of the best psychological indicators of success, linked to commitment to learning, willingness to make mistakes, desire to conquer a challenge and determination to work on their weaknesses while also playing to strengths.
Examining narratives around performance across the diverse arenas of academia, sport and professional settings, in many ways, our holistic perceptions of success or high-performance are inextricably linked to grit and tenacity. Anecdotally, there are plenty of examples of tenacious, “gritty” leaders who produced results despite the odds. Corporate and sporting cultures often encourage leaders and athletes to continue “toughing it out” despite adverse conditions, injuries and the prices being paid.
For individuals and organisations, grit offers a powerful framework for understanding personal and professional growth. However, as with any attribute, grit has its limitations and implications when over-used. When overapplied or misdirected, grit can lead to unintended consequences, such as burnout, rigidity, and missed opportunities for adaptation. This review examines the dual nature of grit—its potential to inspire success and its capacity to hinder it—while offering practical insights for leveraging grit effectively within organisational settings.
The Positive Elements of Grit
Grit empowers individuals to navigate complex, long-term objectives by fostering resilience and focus. This trait is particularly vital in high-pressure professions and situations requiring extensive effort. Duckworth et al (2007) posited that grit predicts success across various fields, such as academic settings, the military, and the corporate world, where commitment to a goal often determines outcomes more than innate ability.
In the corporate world, grit differentiates effective leaders from the rest. Business leaders often face significant setbacks, from financial losses to failed product launches. Those with grit maintain a long-term perspective, using failures as stepping stones to eventual success. Consider a sales manager facing declining performance in their team. Through persistent efforts to refine strategies, mentor staff, and adapt to market trends, they transform the team’s results, demonstrating that grit involves sustained effort and vision over time. This aligns with Duckworth’s assertion that grit involves not just working hard but working with a sustained vision over years.
The military presents another practical framework for observing grit in action. Duckworth’s study with West Point cadets as participants demonstrated that grit was a stronger predictor of success during intense training programs than traditional measures like IQ or physical aptitude (Duckworth et al., 2007). For instance, a solider who might not have initially excelled in physical evaluations but remained steadfast in their training regime eventually completed one of the most rigorous military programs, proving the transformative power of persistence.
Elite athletes exemplify grit through their disciplined training regimens and unwavering commitment to their goals. Marathon runners, for instance, endure physical exhaustion and mental challenges over months of training. Their grit enables them to cross the finish line, not merely as a testament to their physical ability but as a reflection of their psychological stamina. For example, Ned Brockman, who ran across Australia, covering nearly 4,000 kilometres in just 46 days. His determination to push through physical pain and mental fatigue highlights the extraordinary power of grit in achieving seemingly impossible feats.
Beyond high-stakes environments, grit manifests in everyday life, such as individuals recovering from personal adversities or balancing career and family demands. A single parent pursuing higher education while working full-time embodies grit, demonstrating perseverance despite the challenges of time management and fatigue.
By embedding grit into organisational cultures and personal development plans, professionals and leaders can cultivate environments where sustained effort and resilience are celebrated, driving meaningful and enduring achievements.
Grit represents a cornerstone of personal and professional success, transcending traditional metrics of talent and intelligence. It equips individuals to stay the course amidst failures and uncertainties, ensuring progress toward meaningful long-term objectives. However, as Duckworth herself acknowledges, the power of grit lies not only in perseverance but also in the clarity of purpose it fosters, making it a transformative quality for those striving for excellence.
The Shadow Side of Grit
While grit is often celebrated as a predictor of success, like all personality traits and strengths, we believe excessive or misplaced grit comes with a shadow side and can have adverse consequences. Explained as inappropriate persistence (Alaouri & Fons-Rosen, 2021), the downsides of grit include overcommitment, burnout, rigidity, and impaired decision-making. Below we outline findings from three research initiatives that illuminate the shadow side of grit across diverse settings, focusing on its effects on decision-making, wellbeing, and workplace outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of balancing grit with self-awareness, adaptability and organisational support.
Study 1: Grit and the Sunk Cost Fallacy
One of the most significant pitfalls of grit is its link to the sunk cost fallacy. Alaoui and Fons-Rosen (2021) investigated this through a behavioural experiment in which 138 participants played a modified roulette-style game. Participants were provided with an initial endowment of 2,000 tokens and could bet on a variety of outcomes with predefined rules. Before gameplay, participants were asked to specify a “planned minimum limit”; the lowest token level at which they would stop playing. The experimental design included three stages: planning, gameplay, and questionnaire which measured Grit using the Duckworth and Quinn (2009) short grit questionnaire including two dimensions: tenacity and diligence. The results indicated that “grittier” individuals, particularly those with higher tenacity, are more likely to deviate from the pre-established plans, a behaviour the authors refer to as “overplaying.” Significantly, a one-point increase in the Grit Index was associated with a 25.9% increase in the likelihood of overplaying.
This behaviour reflects an overemphasis on tenacity—an inability to pivot even when evidence suggests a need for change. While grit drives perseverance in adversity, it can lead to counterproductive outcomes when individuals refuse to reassess or abandon failing pursuits. This is particularly relevant in today’s organisations which require agility in the face of increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
Businesses must cultivate adaptability alongside grit. For example, implementing decision-making frameworks that encourage regular reassessment of goals can help leaders and employees avoid the pitfalls of misplaced persistence. In practice, this could involve quarterly strategy reviews or scenario planning sessions to ensure long-term initiatives remain aligned with organisational objectives.
Consider a bank leader managing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into operations. Initially, they may invest heavily in traditional customer service models, hesitating to shift resources toward AI-driven solutions like chatbots and predictive analytics. However, recognising the potential of AI to improve customer experiences and operational efficiency, they pivot to prioritise AI implementation. By adopting tools to personalise customer interactions and streamline loan approvals, the leader demonstrates how adaptability, combined with perseverance, can drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving industry (Alaoui & Fons-Rosen, 2021).
Study 2: The Curvilinear Relationship Between Grit and Goal Progress
Khan, Neveu and Murtaza (2020) conducted a two-wave study involving 293 University Professors in the United States to examine the relationship between grit and work goal progress. They hypothesised a curvilinear relationship, suggesting that moderate levels of grit would positively impact goal progress, but extreme levels would result in diminishing returns. The findings supported their hypothesis, revealing that while grit initially facilitates progress, excessive grit leads to resource depletion and lower performance.
This study also analysed the role of perceived organisational support (POS). POS was measured using an eight-item questionnaire featuring statements like “The organisation really cares about my wellbeing” to evaluate respondents’ experiences with their current organisation. The study revealed that POS act as a critical moderator in the relationship between grit and work goal progress. Specifically, higher levels of POS buffered the negative effects of excessive grit. Therefore, POS provided a safety net, allowing individuals to recalibrate their efforts and avoid the negative effects of overcommitment.
The findings from Khan et al (2020) underscore the importance of balancing grit with organisational support. In leadership roles, where the pressure to deliver is high, excessive grit can lead to rigid overcommitment, burnout, and diminished effectiveness. For instance, a leader might persist in pursuing overly ambitious targets despite signs of team fatigue and declining morale, believing that perseverance will eventually yield success. However, this approach often depletes both personal and team resources, undermining long-term goals.
Organisational support plays a crucial role in mitigating these risks. Research demonstrates that environments fostering wellbeing—through flexible work policies, access to mental health resources, and regular feedback—help employees and leaders sustain their efforts without succumbing to burnout. POS, as identified in Khan et al.’s study, acts as a critical buffer, ensuring that individuals feel valued and supported while navigating high-demand roles. For example, a university professor might receive additional administrative support or access to counselling services during periods of high workload, enabling them to maintain productivity without sacrificing their wellbeing.
Study 3: Grit, Leadership, and Wellbeing
Rego, Bluhm, Valverde, and e Cunha (2023) examined the interaction between grit, prudence, and work-to-family conflict among leaders; essentially exploring how excessive grit impacts affective wellbeing (AWB). The authors used Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) definition of Prudence, defining it as a future orientated cognitive function that uses practical reasoning and self-management to help achieve long-term goals (i.e. thoughtful decision making and regulated behaviours). Rego et al. measured prudence through ratings provided by subordinates and peers. The researchers found that while grit often enhances leaders’ capacity to achieve goals, it also increases work-to-family conflict, particularly when leaders lack prudence—a reflective resource that allows them to manage competing priorities effectively.
One striking example from the study was a leader who prioritised organisational goals to such an extent that they neglected personal relationships, leading to significant stress and reduced AWB. However, leaders who balanced grit with prudence experienced better wellbeing and lower conflict between work and family responsibilities. Prudent, gritty leaders often evaluate consequences, regularly seek advice from their families about how to balance their commitments and needs and actively eliminate obstacles and generate resources, allowing them to proactively achieve their work goals whilst simultaneously maintain a healthy balance in overall wellbeing, work, and family goals.
These findings once again highlight the dual-edged nature of grit: its capacity to drive success and its potential to exhaust individuals when unmoderated. Rego and colleagues suggest that leaders with excessive grit may neglect self-care, overcommit to work demands, and experience work-to-family conflict, ultimately reducing their affective wellbeing.
Enter… Grace
Many leaders have spent their entire professional lives developing grit and have been lauded and recognised for the mental toughness they have displayed to face and step into challenges and obstacles and overcome them with discipline and drive. But more and more, we are seeing the necessity of another ingredient: grace. To thrive in the workplace and beyond, we believe you need both.
We acknowledge that grit and grace are not comparably conceptualised, measured and researched constructs. To some, grace is a spiritual concept. To others, it relates to approval, kindness and empathy. Grace also denotes smoothness and elegance of movement. We conceptualise and draw upon the concept of “letting go with grace”, referring to the psychological process that involves accepting what is and relinquishing attachment to expectations, desires, and outcomes. It can also refer to moving on with grace in the face of adversity, which is a conscious choice that requires acceptance, resilience, and self-care.
Grace complements grit by encouraging individuals to practice the art of letting go. It involves setting boundaries and recognising when persistence becomes counterproductive (Alaoui & Fons-Rosen, 2021). It requires self-awareness, a self-reflective practice, judgment and wisdom to analyse holistic data and experiences and a letting go of mindsets, beliefs and perhaps elements of ego that tether us to elements of our work or lives that are no longer serving us or that are coming at too high a price. Balancing grit with grace ensures individuals can sustain effort without compromising mental or physical health.
A foundational principle of applying grace relates to boundary setting, namely proactively and pre-emptively establishing clear limits for effort and investment to achieve a goal, and routinely reassessing its feasibility, to prevent resource depletion.
Ultimately, this harmony between grit and grace can transform grit into a sustainable asset; fuelling progress while preserving wellbeing and fostering an environment where individuals, teams and organisations can strive and thrive.
Reflection and Retros
As outlined, organisational support plays a critical role in mitigating the shadow side of grit. Research highlights the importance of fostering psychological safety and resilience through flexible work policies, access to mental health resources, and regular performance check-ins. These initiatives provide a safety net for employees and leaders, allowing them to recalibrate efforts without compromising wellbeing. Equally important is integrating self-compassion and mindfulness into daily routines. Simple practices such as journaling or meditation allow individuals to reflect on their goals and ensure alignment with long-term values.
The good news is that both grit and grace (and their balance) can be developed over time with reflection and practice. In our prior year-end posts, we have encouraged you to round out the calendar year with a Retro or Blameless Post-Mortem with your team, proposing the close of the year presents a stellar opportunity for leaders to schedule time with their teams to look back at the year that was; identify what they and their teams nailed, where they have faltered or even failed and what they all learned.
Team Retro
“Retros” or “Blameless Postmortems” have many practical benefits. They are key to continuous improvement, learning and growth, and there is ample research to show that teams who conduct these kinds of debriefs (and have the psychological safety to do them well, without blame!) perform better than those that do not (Allen, Reiter-Palmon, R., Crowe, J., & Scott, C., 2018). Moreover, they can also contribute in other, more subtle ways that can enhance team cohesion, engagement and wellbeing.
While the year-end frazzle is predictable, our clients are reporting levels of stress and exhaustion at a rate (and with a level of emotion) we have never experienced before. Over the past few years, we have been calling attention to the accumulated stress, angst and existential grief we have been witnessing and navigating since 2020. The ongoing physical and mental health challenges related to the economic challenges are being compounded by the inevitable end of year rush to close things out. In this headspace, many individuals are less likely to take the time for themselves to reflect on all the things they have achieved and learned throughout the year.
Consciously creating time and space in the midst of this rush for a short, informal “Retro” can be a gentle forcing function to ensure individual and collective learnings and ideas for 2025 are extracted and accomplishments are acknowledged and celebrated. This can allow teams to recognise their efforts and enter the holiday break with some of the ‘weight’ of the past year lifted. It also provides an opportunity for leaders to be more deliberate about the mindset they want their team members to enter their holidays with. People who have closed out the year purposefully and with a balanced sense of accomplishment and progress are more likely to come back refreshed and reinvigorated, than a group of frazzled employees who limped over the finish line without pausing to look back.
If you are thinking about scheduling in a year end reflection, we recommend the 4L Retro framework that Atlassian leverage. The pre-work can be very short and sharp to reduce the time and data preparation burdens. Prior to the Retro, team members are asked to spend no more than 30 minutes to reflect on the last quarter or the full calendar year and prepare to discuss what they:
We recommend the individual shares (“The What”) are followed by a discussion of team-level themes that emerged and a short and sharp discussion of the “So What?” and “What Next?” including:
Personal Retro
In our executive coaching work we often see leaders who extend grace to others but are less willing or likely to extend that grace to themselves, so this year we also encourage you to take time to do a personal Retro, using the same 4L questions, while also augmenting with reflections of grit and grace as follows:
